Mahanoy Area School Dist. v. B. L.

Decided June 23, 2021. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 20-255 · 594 U.S. 180 (2021) · Cited 30 times

Holding

The school district’s decision to suspend student B. L. from the cheerleading team for posting to social media (outside of school hours and away from the school’s campus) vulgar language and gestures critical of the school violates the First Amendment.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District · 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
• Morse v. Frederick · 551 U.S. 393 (2007)
• Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser · 478 U.S. 675 (1986)
• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier · 484 U.S. 260 (1988)
• Street v. New York · 394 U.S. 576 (1969)
• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
• Snyder v. Phelps · 562 U.S. 443 (2011)
• Connick Ex Rel. Parish of Orleans v. Myers · 461 U.S. 138 (1983)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Ingraham v. Wright · 430 U.S. 651 (1977)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire · 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• McDonald v. City of Chicago · 561 U.S. 742 (2010)
• Rankin v. McPherson · 483 U.S. 378 (1987)
• Texas v. Johnson · 491 U.S. 397 (1989)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio · 395 U.S. 444 (1969)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Virginia v. Black · 538 U.S. 343 (2003)
• Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell · 485 U.S. 46 (1988)
• McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission · 514 U.S. 334 (1995)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation · 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
• Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn. · 564 U.S. 786 (2011)
• Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette · 515 U.S. 753 (1995)
• Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western NY · 519 U.S. 357 (1997)
• Tyson & Brother v. Banton · 273 U.S. 418 (1927)
• Agency for Int'l Development v. Alliance for Open Society Int'l, Inc. · 570 U.S. 205 (2013)
• Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Calhoun · 213 U.S. 1 (1909)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2021). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).